'Deadly Weapon" Cane Assault Leads To Charges

An 85-year-old accused of using his cane as a deadly weapon repeatedly told a Denver, Colorado judge Thursday that he couldn't hear most of the proceedings that were taking place inside the courtroom.

Denver Police arrested John Copeland, shortly before midnight on Wednesday inside the north Denver home the two share.

Police believe the elder Copeland used a cane to assault a Denver Disability Parking Enforcement Volunteer at the Stapleton Home Depot parking lot last month. While prosecutors have yet to charge John Copeland, court records show he's being held on suspicion of second-degree assault, a felony.

From jail Thursday evening, Copeland said he was struggling in pain without all his medication.

He said he believed he did nothing wrong.

"I didn't see no identification," Copeland said about the volunteer parking enforcement officer. "He never showed me none."

The victim said he was patrolling the parking lot looking for people improperly parking in handicapped spaces when he came upon Copeland sleeping in his car.

Richard Knudson said he noticed the car did not have a placard and decided to write a citation, something he is allowed to do because of his job. Eventually, he said, Copeland woke up and the two got into a verbal altercation.